Rodriguez Promises a More Badass Sin City 2, a Bond-Style Machete Kills

While over at Frogtown to sell his wares, the original Texas Rebel Without a Crew Robert Rodriguez spilled some beans about two of his upcoming movies — “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For”, the long-awaited sequel to his 2005 hit, and “Machete Kills”, the sequel to his fan-favorite “Machete”.

According to Rodriguez, if you thought the first “Sin City” was faithful to the works of its original creator Frank Miller, you can expect the sequel to be even more faithful — if that’s possible. Plus, he fills in some info on “Machete Kills”, and just what to expect from a movie where Mel Gibson, no stranger to drama in his real life, will be playing the heavy.

I really held back the first time, because I didn’t know whether audiences would go for it. So it ended up looking like a real movie, but in black and white, with a few flourishes. This one is going to push way further towards the books. It’s going to shock and surprise people.

He goes on to confirm that Clive Owen will also officially return as Dwight, joining fellow returnees Mickey Rourke (as Marv) and Jessica Alba (as the stripper who doesn’t actually strip, Nancy). Update: Empire has now unconfirmed their confirmation of Clive Owen’s return.

So who else will be in the movie? Rodriguez wouldn’t commit, only that he’ll be meeting with some “seriously big names” in the coming weeks to fill out the film’s new roles. The biggest role, of course, is Ava Lord, the “dame” of the title. Quiet frankly, if Rodriguez doesn’t/can’t get Angelina Jolie, it will be a disappointment regardless of who lands it.

As for “Machete Kills”, Rodriguez says not to believe reports of the film’s plot:

That synopsis we put out is misdirection — it’s all fake. Machete is recruited by the President, that’s true, but there’s no cartel leader and the weapon in space is just one of our early story ideas. That said, there is still a space element, for sure. We’ve given the character a much bigger playground. It’s going to be like a James Bond movie, with a Bond-style villain.

And Mel Gibson? That one’s at least true, right?

Mel’s just a badass. We have the same attorney and we’ve talked over the years about stuff we’re making. This won’t just be him grinning, doing bad-guy stuff. He’s going to do something with it that’ll really get people talking.

Get people talking more than Gibson’s actual life? That’s a little hard to believe. Rodriguez and company would have to go pretty big with Gibson’s bad guy just to match the level of insanity that has been the man’s real life.

Both films are expected to shoot this year, with “Machete Kill” first, and “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For” very soon after.